AF General Forced To Retire

Lt. Gen. Craig Franklin, the commander of all Air Force assets in Europe and Africa, is being forced to retire. Air Force leadership wants the 37-year veteran to leave, following media reports that he wrongly exonerated a junior officer who had been convicted of sexual assault. According to Protect Our Defenders, an advocacy group for sexual-assault victims, Franklin acted counter to advice he received from his Air Force legal advisers and overturned the sexual-assault conviction of Lt. Col. James Wilkerson. Further, Protect Our Defenders contended, Franklin recommended Wilkerson for promotion and helped the officer move to a coveted duty assignment. Incidents surrounding the case took place at Aviano Air Base, Italy. Franklin’s actions drew sharp criticism from both sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill. “Franklin clearly substituted his own independent judgment for that of the convened fact-finding panel,” said Rep. Michael Turner, R-Ohio. Franklin’s explanation of his actions “is filled with selective reasoning and assumptions from someone with no legal training, and it’s appalling that the reasoning … served as the basis to overturn a jury verdict in this case,” said Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. Franklin will retire with full benefits.